The Chance MJ's Gatorade Won't Be Chilled: Sub-Zero

Wednesday,
March 27, 1996

Nobody could
ever accuse Michael Jordan of being lazy. But you have to wonder
after the Bulls' superstar had 13 refrigerators installed in his
new 25,000-square-foot home in Highland Park, making it an easy
trip from just about anywhere to grab some Gatorade or anything
else cold.

These aren't
all full-size, or 84-inch, refrigerators. Sources say there are
a few 36-inch units, which fit on counters or under a bar.

But they all
are the Sub-Zero brand, produced by the Madison, Wis.-based firm
of that name, which manufactures super luxury refrigerators priced
upward of $3,500 apiece.

Abt Television
& Appliances In Morton Grove reportedly supplied the refrigerators
for the Jordan household. But the retailer, which has supplied
the needs of other sports stars, declined comment.

Larger homes
and estates have a multitude of refrigerators for convenience,
but the number installed at the Jordan's sprawling home appears
to be unprecedented.

"MJ obviously
wants to make sure the family Juanita and the children, or guests
don't have to go very far for something out of the refrigerator,"
says a source in the appliance business.

No doubt,
Jordan's refrigerator is stocked with Gatorade, considering that
he has a 1O-year contract, ending in 2002, worth an estimated
$18 million with Quaker Oats Co.

Sub-Zero,
a privately held firm, also is said to have 15 to 20 of its refrigerators
under order for the new Beverly Hills, Cal if., home of Haim Saban,
who created the Mighty Morphin Power Ranger cartoon characters,
according to the current (April 8) issue of Forbes magazine.